Half Note, Whole Heart
by colorperfect
Summary: Ella ends her relationship because of her new crush on Jason. However, Shane's interference in her life may give her a whole new outlook on things. Jason x Ella & eventually, Shane x Ella
1. Chapter 1

Everyone believed that the year after Mitchie's initial arrival at Camp Rock would be the most drama-free period at Camp Rock in its history. Ella, however, knew that it was impossible for camp to be so dull, especially since she was pretty close to doing the unthinkable.

Tess was the queen of the camp; everyone knew it, and any efforts to dispute the fact always failed. The same applied to the fact that Ella was the princess. She was friends with everyone at camp; even if she didn't remember everyone's name the majority of the time. Any newcomer would instantly pick up on these two facts; as well as the fact that Ella and Barron were the camp's most beloved couple.

Ella could not believe what she was about to say. She paced around the cafeteria, jumping when she heard Barron's familiar voice.

"You wanted to talk, Ella?" He said casually, draping an arm around her shoulders. She forced a smile on her face before guiding the both of them to the nearest table. "Sit," she said, a little too forcibly.

"Alright," Barron said complying and looking back at her.

She took a deep breath, she could not believe what she was about to say to him. What she was the most uneasy about was about to accuse Barron of. Barron; probably the nicest guy in the whole camp. She looked at his unsuspecting expression and mentally scolded herself for doing this.

"Sorry to make you take time out of your schedule," she said. It came out awfully formal, causing her to let out a nervous chuckle. As an afterthought, she placed her hand over his.

"No problem, we haven't talked in a while. And now we're here. It's what couples do; spend alone time," he insisted, giving her a cheesy grin. She grimaced with guilt.

"That's just it, Barron," she paused, "we're not much a couple anymore, are we?" She stared at him with panic, hoping that she would not see any hint of heartbreak in his eyes. It would be too much for her to take.

"Oh," he said, trying his best to smile in the situation. Both sets of eyes darted to their hands; hers were still sitting on top of his left hand. She flushed and immediately let go. This had to be the most awkward moment.

"This is awkward," she mused out loud. Barron responded with a slow laugh. She found it amazingly hard to believe that there was more she had to say. At that moment, she wanted to either take back her words, or flee and hide under a rock. Pushing a hair out of her face, she once again forced a smile on her face.

"What I mean to say is," she said, her fists clenched tight, "I think...that-you-like-someone-else." It was hard not to meet his gaze, she stared at him, wondering if he heard what she said. The last few words of the sentences had come out of her mouth faster than she expected, and she was not sure if he caught them. However, she knew that there was no way she could possibly force herself to say them again.

Her eyes pressed for answers, and Barron sighed. The guilt Ella was feeling was unbearable. She didn't want to put him in that position, but she had heard a rumor. What was worse was that she desperately hoped the rumor was true.

"How are you taking it?" Barron finally asked, raising an eyebrow. How was she taking it? She also raised her eyebrows. "Well," she started, her voice strained, "I'm happy for you."

She let her forehead fall to her arms. "Barry," she said, immediately reprimanding herself for using his nickname, "I have a confession."

"I can't really hear you Ella," he said uneasily, trying to move her arms, " Your voice is kind of muffled."

She looked back up, "I like someone else too."

The two sat there for a second.

"Wow."

"I know."

"How did you find out about me?" Barron asked, with a smile. She looked back at him, stunned. "You're taking my news pretty well," Ella noted.

"That's because you just confessed," Barron reminded her, raising his hands as he shrugged. "To me, it looks like we're on the same boat," he said with a laugh.

She could not help but smile either. "I'm so sorry Barron." Debating on whether she should bring up the prospect of being "just-friends," she decided to let him respond first.

"So, Ells, who is it?" he asked.

"What?" she quipped, not expecting the question, as shown through her blank expression.

"Oh. Don't call me Ells, please? I think we both find it kind of awkward," she admitted. He nodded. "I'm not sure I want to tell you."

"But you can tell me. I'm your boyfrie--" He stopped himself and let out a laugh.

"Breaking up proves to be harder than we could have imagined, huh?"

"Well, El-la, that's because we've wasted, no, spent the last 3 years in this relationship."

__________________________________________________________________________________

"You guys broke up?" Tess shouted.

"Yup," Ella said, resting her chin on her hands. She chewed her gum loudly, not wanting to hear whatever it was that Tess was muttering under her breath.

Yanking the pillow from underneath Ella, Tess threw her hands up in anger. "What the heck?"

Tess scrunched up her nose in confusion, "I'm totally confused Ella, who was the other girl?"

"Oh, well--"

"You can tell me. I'll knock her lights out."

Ella instantly sat up, reclaiming the pillow. "Whoa, Tess, no need. It was a mutual breakup."

Snorting, Tess patted Ella on the shoulder. "Fine, if you say so. This, in my opinion, is a classic case of denial."

"Tess," Ella whined.

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying that you're handling this awfully well."

"It's just that…what's done is done. No use in dwelling in it."

Tess scoffed, "You know, you sound exactly like my mom when she got rid of step-dad number 2."

"Uh-huh." Ella said. She finally laid back down on her stomach. "Tess. The reason why I'm handling this so well is because I like someone too."

"Who?" Tess said, dumbfounded.

"Stop pretending," Ella pleaded, "I know that you think 'Ella & Barron' is a match made in heaven, but I know for sure that you have noticed that I have started liking someone else."

"Nope, no way, never would have thought--"

"It's Jason."

"Connect 3 Jason?" she said, adding some false doubt in her voice.

"Tess, seriously."

"Alright, I'll admit it. But honestly, Ella! You just ended a three year relationship, who knows if you and Jason will work out? And its not like you can get Barron back, he's probably on a date with that---"

"Tess, are you going to help me or what?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi Ella!" Jason said enthusiastically as he joined her for breakfast. Her mood instantly brightened, and Tess motioned for their friends to give the two some space.

"Jason," she said, greeting him with a smile.

"I need to ask you something, but Nate says its probably not a good idea."

She continued smiling, Jason sure was blunt and to the point.

"Hmm?"

"Is it true that you and Barron broke up? I swear that you guys started going out back when Connect 3 was still a garage-band." He stared into space and held out his fingers. "That was like, 3 years ago."

"News travels fast," she said glumly, leaning on her elbow. Now that she thought about it, that was probably why everyone in the cafeteria was giving her looks. Barron was having breakfast with his new girl, she figured. That would explain why their table now had an empty seat. This empty seat was currently filled by Jason, and this made Ella extremely happy. She looked back up at him and smiled to let him know she was completely ecstatic.

"But also, everyone says that its because you guys both like someone else."

She looked at him, unsure of what to say. "Yeah, it's true," she finally said, nodding her head.

"Who?" Jason said with bewilderment, he stretched out the word and eagerly awaited an answer."

"I think you know who," she said.

"Nope."

"Really, you do." she insisted.

"Noo… I really don't."

"You don't?" She sat back.

"The point is," he said after a second, bringing the conversation forward. "You don't seem to be hurt by the breakup, so that's good. How about going out for a little celebration?"

She smiled, of course Jason knew it was him. She giggled, "Okay."

_________________________________

"Really? Celebrating a breakup?" Tess said, rolling her eyes.

"It's another way of saying, 'going on a date,'" Ella insisted. She clapped her hands and rolled around on her bed.

"Did he say when?"

"Well, no."

"Did he say where?"

"No…" Her forehead wrinkled. Clearly seeing her friend's frustration, Tess sighed.

"Don't worry, Tess to the rescue." Tess gave her friend an encouraging smile. "You just need to…you know, remind him. Write him a cute little letter or something. Show him you were serious."

Ella nodded. She shot up, meaning that she had an even better idea. "I'm thinking that I write him a song."

"Nooo," Tess said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Ella, that is not what I said, at all."

"Is it a bad idea?" Ella questioned.

"I guess not--"

"So what is there to lose?"

________________________________

Ella arrived on the small porch of Jason's cabin. She excitedly knocked on the door and shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited. As soon as the door opened, as if it were an instinct, she stuck out her hand.

She glanced out and yelped before pulling her hands back. It was too late, though. The music score was already in the guy's hand; and this guy was not Jason.

She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. She extended her hand to get the score back, but Shane had already turned on his heel and waltzed back into the cabin. Ella stood there, completely frozen. He had not closed the door, so she figured that meant that she could go inside.

Taking a step in, she met his gaze. Although he was completely handsome, she immediately shied away when her eyes met him. Without another thought, she ran.

_________________________________

Shane raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. He looked at the paper in his hands; it could not have been important. He stared quizzically at it. Letting a out a little chuckle, he laid the score on the table and picked up his guitar. He paused, and on second thought, went to retrieve Nate's electric keyboard.

Debating on whether or not to actually play the piece, he pressed the power button anyway. Skimming each bar, he could not help but notice the girl's handwriting was extremely shaky. "Either she wrote this while riding a motorcycle, or her penmanship sucks," he concluded. Squinting, he wondered aloud, "is this a half note?" He could not tell if the author had meant to fill the note in.

Simply shrugging it off, Shane glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes to spare, why not? He began to play the piece, which, as much as he hated to admit, was actually pretty nice. As he continued further into the piece, he realized that it was somewhat repetitive.

"Who's playing that love song on my keyboard?" Nate said as he came into the cabin.

Shane immediately stopped. Love song?

"Shane? You're playing it? You've got to be kidding me," Nate said, stifling a laugh.

Shane chuckled too. "Yeah, I have no idea. This weird girl just randomly stopped by, gave this to me, and ran off."

"Uh huh…" Nate said skeptically, he picked up the score. "Who?"

"I have no idea."

"Yeah…" Nate clapped his hands together, "Whatever. It's Pop Jam night; and I want to go. I told you to be ready by seven; hurry up. I knew you wouldn't be."

"Dude, you get way to excited about these things."

"Shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

The two band members showed up 10 minutes late to the jam because Shane had taken so long to get ready. Nate shot Shane an annoyed look and motioned to show how the event had already started.

Laughing, Shane gave an innocent shrug. "You care too much about this," he said, for the second time within ten minutes. Nate did not hear him, and raised an eyebrow. "I said, 'you're a loser," Shane joked, saying it loud enough for him to hear. Nate brushed off the playful insult, turning his attention back to the stage.

Shane stared absently into the air. He had spent so much time getting ready because after Nate had left, he turned the volume on the keyboard to the lowest level, and spent a good 20 minutes playing the song over and over again. He could not help that the song was so comforting; in fact, it was indescribably pleasant. It was until Nate started barbarically knocking on the door that Shane had to abruptly stop.

"She has a pretty big fan base," Nate commented. His words caught Shane's attention, and his gaze followed to where Nate was pointing to. He instantly saw Tess's vibrant blond hair, as well as Jason and a group of others, struggling for a better look at the performer. "Who is singing anyway?" Shane wondered, suddenly remembering that he was there with Nate to listen to music, and that it would help if he paid attention. Looking up, he could not help but smirk when he saw that it was Ella singing. He still did not know her name, but slowly, he realized what a pure voice she had.

"What is she singing?" Shane asked to nobody in particular.

"It's pop music," Nate answered.

"Well, duh." Shane said, fighting the impulse to playfully hit Nate on the back of the head. "This is Pop Jam, of course she's singing pop."

_Don't ever ask me for reasons  
I can't get to you  
Don't ever ask me for reasons  
Why I live for you... I just do_

"Shane?" Nate asked, elbowing him in the ribs. "What?" Shane snapped, he had been completely entranced by Ella's singing--not that he would admit it.

"Oh, I thought you fell asleep," Nate said in a low voice. He mocked Shane by letting his head fall to the side as Shane's was.

Shane shook his head, "I almost did. Sorry," he lied, easily fooling Nate. Shane shifted his gaze back to the stage, realizing that the music was gone.

"She's done?" Shane asked, ignoring the fact that everyone around him was clapping.

"Shane, you're acting awfully weird," Nate said. "Is it because of Mitchie?" he asked, looking at Shane's face for an honest answer.

He scoffed. "I, for one, have not noticed any change in my behavior at all. This is just the way I am." Shane crossed his arms and sighed, his face clearing showing that he was annoyed. "The truth is, sure, I was hurt when Mitchie left, but I'm over it. I'm Shane Grey."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," Nate said quietly, "Distant. Arrogant. Dismissive. Old Shane has made a full return."

Shane laughed sourly, "Nothing a summer at camp can't fix." The next song began, and when Nate was not looking, Shane slipped out of his seat and wandered aimlessly. He stopped when he saw Ella, standing behind the stage, illuminated by stage lights.

"Nice song," He said, just loud enough for her to hear. Her head practically snapped up, and she looked at him with obvious fear. Her eyes stared intently at him, again, she could not speak. Just then, he realized how sarcastic his words sounded.

Trying again, he plastered a smile on his face. "Usually I'm not a big fan of love songs, but yours, it was so…"

"It wasn't a love song," she interrupted, and then as an afterthought, she took a quick step back. She decided that there was no way she could go through with that lie, especially since she could feel the heat in her cheeks; meaning that she was flushing. Her face was definitively red right now, even if she could not see it, she knew. "It wasn't for you," she suddenly retorted, afraid to make eye contact with him.

It was probably the first time Shane was so hurt by such a simple sentence. Pretending as if he did not care, he took a step closer. "Oh, well…" he started, "why not?" His voice had come out low, and a little bit desparate. However, she took it completely the wrong way. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a questioning look. Was Shane Grey seriously mocking her. She wouldn't put it past him.

"Honestly, I think you're creepy," she said, instantly regretting it. His face softened, but in the darkness, she couldn't tell. He took another step closer, minimizing the space that kept the two apart. Noticing that she was holding her breath, he laughed softly to himself. As if she was a deer caught in headlights, she looked straight at him, eyes opened wide.

"She's going to run," he thought to himself, and for some reason, he could not let her do that. Just as she was turning on her heel, he caught her wrist. She looked at him, horrified, and let out the softest yelp. "Uhm, I just wanted to ask you if this was a half note. I couldn't tell," he said, flashing the music score in front of her eyes.

Glaring at where he had held her, she scolded her arm for feeling so electrified by his touch. "This is what complete fear does to you, I guess," she thought silently. Hoping that she wouldn't burst out in tears, she coughed, "Uh, that's…that's a h-half note," she stuttered.

Struggling to find something else to say, Shane instantly blurted out the question, "Who _are_ you?" She looked taken aback, not sure of how to answer. It didn't really matter who she was, she figured, Shane Grey didn't need to know.

"I meant what is your name?"

"Oh, it's Ella." She was amazed at the way in which she was able to pull together enough courage to form a sentence that made her seem like a normal person. It was a short sentence, but it was something. "And the song is for Jason." She decided to add that in because her newly acquired sense of bravery drained away. "If you'll excuse me," she started.

"Wait!" Shane said, he paused. "This can't be good," he thought to himself, he could feel himself changing. He was about to say something that he would regret. There was no doubt that it wouldn't be nice. "This must be what Nate was talking about," he muttered to himself. Looking back at Ella, eyes glistening, he said, "Listen, Ella. You and I both know what I can do with this song." He held up the song.

She gasped. Honestly, she had no clue what he could do with the song, but whatever he was going to say couldn't be good. There was no way that a positive idea could come out of the mouth of the boy who was practically glowering at her. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm… going to show this song to the whole world," he said, making up his plan as he spoke. He half expected her to be excited, but the look on her face told him that she was terrifyingly embarrassed. Her emotions would work to his advantage.

"Unless you want 'Ella's love-song for Jason,' to end up as a bonus track on the next Connect 3 album," he lied, "You have to listen to whatever I say." He took another step forward. "Connect 3 albums always sell over 6 million copies, by the way," he added.

"Don't let him see you cry," she told herself. She glared at him, praying that none of her tears would fall. He grimaced as he realized that she might not agree. Maybe she was braver than he thought. He could not even explain why he was using blackmail. "If your answer is yes, you are now my personal assistant. As Nate says, 'Shane's personal assistant is basically his slave." Despite the fact that deep, deep, deep down, Shane felt really bad for picking on her, his heart jumped at the possibility of being able to spend so much time with Ella. There were other ways to go about spending time with her, he mused, but as much as he hated to admit it, he, Shane Grey, was not exactly "social."

His stomach sank as he saw Ella obviously going over options in her head. She looked so little, no longer illuminated by the stage lights.

"Fine," she said, "tomorrow, then. Your cabin? In the morning?" she said, before running off.

Shane stood in the same spot for another few minutes, not believing that she actually agreed. He finally turned and sprinted back to the cabin, hoping that Nate had been keeping it in good shape.

As strange as if sounded, he desperately wanted to impress his new personal-assistant.


	4. Chapter 4

Ella showed up at 7:00 am sharp the next morning, still completely traumatized by the circumstances. Her hands shook as she knocked on the door.

"Good morning?" Nate asked slowly, clearly confused.

"I'm Shane's new personal assistant," she mumbled miserably.

Shane immediately appeared at the doorway when he heard her voice. He gently pushed Nate aside. "Hi, Ella."

"Hi, Shane," she said, glumly.

He yawned, shot Nate a glance, and then, taking Ella's wrist, led her outside and down the camp to the cafeteria. He quickly gathered some food, while Ella sat at the table, completely confused.

"Eat," he said, setting down a plate. She immediately began eating, often glancing up to see his reaction.

Laughing, Shane sighed. "Relax, it wasn't an order. It was a suggestion." He rolled his eyes.

_________________________________________

"Shane, what the hell are you doing?" Nate demanded when Shane returned to the cabin.

Shane shrugged, pretending as if he had no clue what Nate was talking about.

"Shane," Nate warned, "you know that Jason likes Ella, so why would you make her your victim?"

"She agreed," Shane argued, like a toddler, he stomped his foot lightly to make a point.

"I bet she only did this to be near Jason more often," Nate said, nodding his head as if he was agreeing with himself. Shane's heart sank. It made a lot of sense. Out of nowhere, a new idea popped into his mind. "We'll just have to avoid Jason then," he mumbled to himself, with disbelief at his own petty tactics. How could he be jealous of Jason over a girl like Ella? Worse, how could he be so mean to Jason?

_________________________________________

"Here's your guitar for practice, sir," Ella said, handing Shane his guitar. It was her third day as his assistant, and as much as she hated to admit it, it was not that bad.

"You don't have to call me sir," Shane pointed out, taking the guitar.

He began playing, and for the first time since she met him, she was not scared. She sat against the tree, still confused as to why Shane insisted on rehearsing in the middle of the camp, instead of in his cabin, or one of the rehearsal halls. Her heart skipped a beat as Shane began playing a new melody.

It was her song. Her song for Jason. She urgently motioned for him to stop, putting her own hands over his. She glanced away. "Can you, not play that? Please?"

He raised his eyebrows, and put his guitar down. Lowering his head to meet her gaze, which was fixed on the floor, he let out a contented sigh. "You know, that was the first time you spoke to me without being spoken to first."

She shrugged, not amused in the least by his comment.

"Come on, Ella, I'm not _that_ bad." He stretched his arms and awkwardly gave her a pat. "Do I bother you that much."

_________________________________________

"Is there something wrong with this table?" Shane asked, put off by the way in which she stared at the cafeteria table with disgust.

"I…don't think you want to know." She said at last. He didn't say anything, and the two hovered over the table for 3 long seconds. "This is where Barron and I broke up, okay?"

His expression softened for a second, but then she mentioned the fact that she and Barron went out for three years. Disgusted by the mention of any guy other than himself, he bitterly laughed. "Well, that's not much of my concern."

She avoided his gaze and swiftly rubbed her eyes. No tears, she realized. She decided not to make much of a big deal and started to sit down.

"Wait," Shane said, a bit too impatiently. Her eyes darted to him with a scared look again, causing him to feel a pang of guilt. "We're early to lunch. There's a cafeteria full of tables; take your pick."

She stared at him as if she wasn't sure if he was serious. Slowly making her way to another table, she repeatedly glanced back for Shane's approval. He seemed indifferent, so she made her way to the corner table and confidently sat down.

Relieved to see that she was no longer on the verge of tears, he took a seat next to her. She immediately realized his presence again, and got up to get his lunch. "Wait," he said again. "Lunch isn't ready yet. Let's talk."

She tried her best to hide her pained expression, she had successfully avoided small-talk with Shane Grey for a week now. However, she did notice that he wasn't happy when she wasn't in a good mood. The only thing worse than being in a bad mood herself was having to deal with Shane in a bad mood.

"I like this table," she said, having nothing else to say. He smiled, "Oh? Why?"

She gave him a dubious look, but then flashed a grin. Shane seemed generally interested. Leaning forward, she practically whispered, "this is where Jason asked me out."

Shane's smile slowly faded. He didn't think that his emotions showed so much, but Ella could tell that he was repulsed. "Good job Ella, kill his good mood," she thought to herself.


End file.
